


Get the Goddamned Fern Out of Your Window

by orphan_account



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Gabriel Ships It, M/M, One Shot, Pining, our pets are in love au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-21
Updated: 2014-11-21
Packaged: 2018-02-26 11:06:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2649731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean lives in the house across from the Novak brothers. He also has a dog that just so happens to adore looking at the Novaks' cat - so when the day comes that a fern has taken the cat's place in the window, everything changes.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Get the Goddamned Fern Out of Your Window

"Sam, there's no way," Dean's voice is exasperated.

He's standing on his front porch, his too-tall 20-year-old brother standing before him. But Sam isn't just standing there, oh no - he's got a leash in one hand with a dog attached to the end, golden-brown tail wagging as he stares up at Dean. It's a German shepherd, pretty big but not unmanageable. 

"Dean, please! They were gonna put him down at the shelter and he's a  _great_ dog, I swear! Just take him in for a little while, not even a  _month-"_

"Sam, I like my house. It's neat and clean and I don't want a fucking dog."

Dean crosses his arms for emphasis, attempting to guard the entrance to the house. The attempt is futile, though - Sam's height advantage and matching pissed-off expression just makes Dean feel bad. The dog doesn't look too bad, and Sam brought all the supplies he thought Dean would need: dog bed, water and food bowls, leash and collar, a couple of toys. Dean wouldn't even have to go out and buy anything. Besides, the dog had a cool-ass name - _t_ _he Colonel._

All of that combined with Sam's puppy eyes is enough for Dean to take the Colonel in, despite the shedding fur and barking and messiness and  _oh shit what did Dean get into?_

_"Fine,_ I'll take your damned dog," he leans forward, grabbing the leash a little too harshly and tugging with more force than is necessary. 

"Dean, really? Oh my gosh, you have no idea-"

"Shut it, Sam. Just tell me what to do for the next couple weeks, okay?"

Sam beams as he explains everything to his brother, feeding schedules and exercise and the like. "You're gonna love him, Dean."

"Yeah, yeah, I'll love it and never want you to take him back ever again, blah blah blah. What next?"

Except that's exactly what happens. _'What next?'_ turns into a year of learning to care and love something in a way that Dean doesn't really get. It's an  _animal,_ but he loves the Colonel like he would for a family member. It's ridiculous, and he spends most of that year with his dog, going on walks and staring out windows. 

Dean figures out what the Colonel stares at all the time about ten months after getting him, seeing the dog pawing at the window and whining sadly. 

"Hey, what is it, boy?"

The Colonel simply whines more, nosing at the glass and smearing it. Dean leans forward to examine whatever's causing the distress, meeting the culprit at the house across the street. 

"Son of a bitch," Dean murmurs, chuckling lightly to himself as he sees the cause of the Colonel's pain. 

Across the street, sitting in the window of the Novak residence like a smug statue, is an orange cat. It sits there calmly, staring right back at the Colonel with an unflinching expression.  _This_ is the thing that the Colonel is infatuated with. The fucking  _Novak_ house pet, possibly the worst pet (and neighbors) that Dean has ever known. The cat claws at everything, at least it constantly attacks him if it ever gets outside. And the Novaks themselves?

Dean has only ever met Gabriel, short and mischievous. He's got a candy addiction and a penchant for wild parties that keep the entire neighborhood up. Sure, Dean's only twenty-five - but he likes his sleep as much as the next guy, and Gabriel gets in the way of that. The other one, Castiel, is apparently the  _opposite_ of his brother - at least, that's what Gabriel had told him, and Dean didn't know how reliable that information was. He had seen Castiel out running in the mornings, and he'd been interested by the lean muscles in his legs and the piercing gaze; alas, he'd been too  _fucking terrified_ to make a move, partially because Gabriel threatened to beat his ass if he ever hurt his brother.

Dean had settled on keeping his distance from the Novaks and their weird lives (Gabriel the candy maker, his brother the author). So when he realizes that the Colonel is concerned with  _that cat in particular,_ he grows a little concerned. The Colonel is still pawing at the glass, making sad eyes at the emotionless cat across the street. But Dean notices that the cat raises a paw, suddenly - furry and white, contrasting the orange - and the Colonel calms down immediately, raising his own in an animal salute. 

"Fucking weird," Dean mumbles, walking back to the kitchen to fix lunch. 

 

***

 

The weird paw-thing and longing stares out the window continue for another two months, Dean deciding not to worry about it. His dog is just concerned in the affairs of the neighbors' cat, that's all - it's not like the Colonel gets ridiculously excited whenever the cat pops up in the window or glances longingly whenever it's not there. No, his behavior isn't at all similar to how he acts when he sees Castiel running outside. 

See, Dean had to give up on not caring about Cas or wanting to get to know him, because he was goddamned  _interesting._ He ran in the mornings, he wrote on the porch, he waved to Dean when he came home from work, and he  _gardened._ It probably wasn't healthy with how hard Dean was crushing on Cas; after all, they'd only ever spoken three times. But Dean couldn't help it. Something about him was just... magnetic. 

The first time they talked, Cas had been digging up plants out front. Dean had simply been sitting on his porch, drinking coffee and desperately trying to ignore how nice Cas looked in casual clothes, muddy shorts sticking to his thighs. All of a sudden, Castiel had walked over, a budding plant in his hands.

"Dean?"

"Heya, Cas. What's up?"

"I am out of space in the front gardens. I would not like to simply kill this camellia, however. Would you take it?"

Dean had agreed faster than what could be considered normal, eagerly taking the clump of dirt and beaming when Castiel smiled softly at him. The sun glinted on his tanned, sweaty skin, some of the dark hair on his forehead sticking up. The blue in his eyes seemed to be electric in the summer light, and Dean wanted nothing more than to chase after Cas and kiss him like there was no tomorrow.

But he didn't do that - he took the plant inside and potted it, learning to care for it and sticking it in the guest room. It was nice.

The second time Dean spoke with him, Castiel was sitting on the curb outside of the Novak residence, head in his hands. Lights and music blared from inside the house, so Dean had just walked out and sat down beside him, offering a beer and a gesture to his own abode. They sat together on the porch steps, staying mostly silent except for the occasional weather comment. Dean remembered clearly how beautiful Cas had looked then; moonlight shining in his hair, mouth curved around the lip of a bottle. 

The third time they spoke, Castiel had passed out in front of Dean's house. It was just a typical run, the typical wave and typical flutter in Dean's chest. Except Cas stumbled and fell, almost cracking his head open on the concrete. 

Dean had ushered him inside, carefully tending to the scrapes and cuts along the other man's face. Dean ignored the way Castiel's gaze lingered on him, chalking it up to over-enthusiasm. He even tried to ignore the way Castiel kept looking at his lips, and how they got so close they almost kissed. He felt Castiel's breath ghost across his lips, strong scent of cleaner and that earthy smell of _Cas_ being all Dean could think about. It wasn't a very romantic setting, of course - Dean's bathroom, a bottle of antiseptic in one hand and a cotton ball in the other. But somehow, with  _Cas,_ it had felt like the most romantic almost-kiss on earth. 

And now, Dean is going to talk to him again. They haven't spoken since their almost-kiss, although Dean  _does_ have to discuss romantic matters with him. Not theirs, of course. Their pets' love life is an important topic, though. 

Dean walks up to the Novak residence on a Thursday at four PM, wringing his hands and nervous excitement bubbling up in his stomach.  _I'm gonna see Cas. I get to see Cas, and maybe he'll remember and he'll invite me inside and then we'll definitely make out on the couch and if Gabriel's gone then we could-_

"Hey, neighbor!" Gabriel flings the door open, amber eyes looking evil as ever.

"Hi, Gabriel. Look, I-"

"Finally got the nerve to ask my brother out?" He leans on the door frame, head tilting up in a way that exudes confidence. Dean hates it, and he hates himself more for sputtering at the question.

"What? Wha- no. No, I just - okay, look, your cat-"

Gabriel lifts up a hand, waving a finger in Dean's face. "Nuh-uh. Cassie's cat, not mine. You got business with the damn thing, you talk to him." Gabriel turns around, facing the inside of the house. "HEY CAS-" _  
_

_"What the fuck_ are you doing?" Dean slams a hand over his mouth, attempting to silence his ass of a neighbor. 

"What do you think? I'm setting the scene for  _romance."_

"I swear to God-" 

"Gabriel?"

Dean and Gabriel both turn at the sound of the gravelly voice, Castiel standing behind his brother in the doorway. His hands are in his pockets, hair frazzled and shirt half-unbuttoned. As Dean glances down at his half-exposed chest, he feels a tug to walk forward and kiss his collarbone - Dean figures that's probably not the appropriate social etiquette, though. 

"Hello, Dean," Castiel gives him that same soft smile, lips gently tilting upward at the corners. 

"Hey, Cas."

"WELL," Gabriel announces, stepping back and pushing Castiel forward. He almost runs into Dean, the two men standing chest-to-chest and pointedly looking away from each other. "I'll just leave you two lovebirds out here. Have fun, use protection!" 

Castiel looks scandalized and Dean just blushes harder, both taking small steps backward. When Dean meets Castiel's gaze again, he finds that his expression is kind and curious. It's the kind of look that makes Dean's heart do stupid things.

"What do you need, Dean?"  _He sounds fucking serene,_ Dean thinks. 

"Oh, right. Yeah, well, uh - y'know I've got a dog, right?" Castiel nods in affirmation, eyes intense.

"Okay. Well, he kind of stares at your cat? Like, all the time. And your cat usually stares back, and they do this weird paw thing, but anyway... basically, there's a giant fern where your cat used to sit. And now I'm pretty sure that my dog is depressed."

Dean finishes with a scrunched up face, not realizing how idiotic the words sound until they're out of his mouth. He's about two seconds away from bolting off the porch when Castiel smiles, big and broad. 

"I knew that Anna was looking at something important. It must have been you," Castiel smiles again before realizing what he's just said. "You - your dog, I mean. Yes, your... your German shepherd."

Dean nods quickly, grinning shyly at the way Cas blushes. "So, will you, uh... move the plant? Maybe?"

"Of course, Dean. For true love's sake." 

"Thanks, Cas. See you around?"

"Goodbye, Dean."

With those final few words, Dean walks back to his house, entire body feeling like it's floating and sinking at the same time. He sits inside for a little while, happily petting the Colonel when he hears a rapping at the door. The Colonel leaps to attention immediately, but Dean shushes him and answers the door.

"Cas?"

"Hello, Dean. There was something of importance I forgot to tell you."

"Oh, um - okay?"

"My cat is not the only member of the Novak household that is... interested. In your German shepherd. Well, you."

Dean's breath leaves his lungs, body freezing to the spot. "What?"

Castiel shifts on the porch, head tilting down before meeting Dean's gaze again. "I would very much like to kiss you, Dean. And go on dates with you, for that matter. If you'd like." Castiel is blushing as hard as Dean was before, rosy cheeks gorgeous in the fading light.

"Then do it," Dean almost whispers the words, unable to voice his thoughts louder. Luckily, Castiel hears him. 

He leans forward, a hand gently cupping the side of Dean's face, and places his lips to Dean's. It's chaste and sweet, and Dean doesn't know how, but just Castiel's lips pressing gently against his mouth is enough to make his knees feel weak. When he steps closer and grabs Castiel around the shoulders, pulling him in and licking his mouth open, Dean discovers that while soft kisses are nice, Cas is  _quite_ good at making out. He presses Dean against the front door, gently tracing the bow of his lips before delving deeper and curiously exploring the heat of Dean's mouth. 

By the time they part, their cheeks are flushed and hair slightly ruffled. Not to mention Castiel's rucked-up shirt and Dean's unbuttoned jeans. 

"Dinner?" Dean asks tentatively, still wondering if all of this is real. 

"Perfect," Castiel says, pecking Dean on the lips one more time before heading back over to his own house. The next time Dean checks the window, the fern is gone. In its place is the cat, smug as ever, and a sign that reads  _'for true love'._

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!  
> feedback is appreciated~  
> (hastily checked over, sorry for errors)


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